[Leisler]

Ah, I'm not a electrical engineer, but..."This gives it an efficiency rating of about 95 per cent.. The batteries are direct current. The motor described is alternating current. That means a converter, to convert the d.c. to a.c. That's got to be %10. Using air conditioning or heat is going to suck power...fast. Also, you think your laptop batteries heat up.... I smell hot smoking oil. Snake oil.

[drlevy88]

Well, the heat would obviously be free (from the waste energy you describe), and air conditioning systems CAN run on heat if they are designed to do so. Remember the old gas refrigerators?

[webstersII]

"The motor described is alternating current. That means a converter, to convert the d.c. to a.c. That's got to be %10."

Wrong. This is a very efficient conversion today with the correct electronics.

[Locomotive Breath]

Well. I am an electrical engineer. I think that they're saying the electric motor is 95% efficient. That doesn't surprise me. They fail to mention the motor's not the whole system. Which is, as you pointed out, cheating.

[DB]

An inverter to from DC to AC can be very efficient.

This story is basically true.

The thing is, they only include the efficiency from the house electrical socket to the wheels. They don't talk about from natural gas, coal, oil and other energy sources to your house's electrical socket efficiency.

Most of California's electricity is generated with natural gas. That's been one of the big drivers of higher natural gas prices over the last several years. California already uses a lot of electricity without trying to power cars...